Learn to passionately use your Nikon DLSR to go from good to great.

In his best selling and critically-acclaimed book The Passionate Photographer, award winning photographer Steve Simon maintains that to do your best work requires a technical mastery after which your creativity will soar.

If you own any of the following Nikon bodies: D7000, D7100, D600, D610, D700, D800, D300/D300s, D3, D3s, D3x, D4, D4s, Df then you are eligible to take this intensive two-day workshop designed to make your camera fade to the background, no longer getting in the way of the images you know you can make.

Along with covering the technical side, Steve Simon deconstructs the elements that make good photographers great: taking you to a higher level in your own photographic journey. Through his innovative 10-step Passionate Photographer process and critiques, you’ll be inspired to transform your passion into a unique personal vision.

This workshop sets the stage for a quantum leap in the quality of your work. This class is limited to 11 participants and each student gets a signed and personalized copy of The Passionate Photographer book.

Our Nikon Cameras are amazing miracles of technology, yet few of us are willing to spend the time it takes to fully learn and exploit all its possibilities. Steve will guide you through the labyrinth of camera menu items, buttons and dials to help you clearly understand your camera’s many features. Through this comprehensive look at all important features and menu items, your process will be simplified giving you full control of your Nikon body with a minimum of fuss. From autofocus settings to white balance, histograms, image review and other shortcuts to customizing your Nikon to your own unique shooting style, part of this class will focus on the technical, so it fades to the background letting you get on with the more important business of making great images.

Then Steve takes you out of your comfort zone to help you determine what you want to say in your work while providing practical knowledge to translate your feelings into strong, meaningful content through personal projects and a more thematic approach to your subjects.

Of crucial importance are the critiques, where we share ideas and constructive criticism as we look at each others’ images. The workshop will be a “safe place” for group discussions with suggestions and new ideas put forward to push ourselves to new heights in our work.

Some of the concepts included in this two day class are:

- Finding inspiration and the importance of mastering the technical and simplifying your process to let your creativity soar.

- How persistence, practice and the 10,000 hours theory can transform your work.

- The art of effective and thorough editing.

- Learning to trust your intuition and rid yourself of preconceptions that hold you back.

- Approaches for even the shyest photographers to find success photographing people by establishing trust to gain access.

- Setting goals, following through and sharing your work.

We will look at ethics and overcoming photographic fears, recognizing your strengths and weaknesses, visual warm-up techniques along with troubleshooting technical and practical issues.

Steve’s presentation combines humor and poignancy as he takes you on an inspirational journey through his personal, compelling projects and those of other master photographers. His presentation is full of surprises and tips for balancing personal and more commercial work while pushing your photographic limits. This will be an intense and fun experience, providing you with a reinvigorated passion for your work and a clear and concise plan of action, maximizing your strengths and talents to move forward toward becoming a great photographer.

Schedule

Workshop starts at 9:00am and runs until 5:30pm each day. We will have an optional shooting assignment on the first night.

You will learn

To trust your intuition and rid yourself of preconceptions that hold you back.

How to transform photographic weaknesses into strengths through targeted goal setting assignments and create an effective plan for improvement.

Venue Information

We'll be meeting in the conference space at the Calumet Photographic retail store in Hollywood, CA.

Cancellation Policy: If participant cancels more than 15 days before the workshop date, then we will refund the enrollment amount minus a $60 processing fee. If participant cancels 14 days or fewer before the workshop date, then we can offer no refund.